I know I have been lacking in my blogging lately. I would like to blog more, but it takes more thought, time, and effort than email and FB. So it gets neglected a bit. You may remember this post where I first shared about my mom being diagnosed with Non Hodgkins B-cell Lymphoma back in May. She got the diagnosis while they were here visiting us, it was on Elise’s birthday actually. So when they left to go back home two days later, that was the hardest goodbye I’ve ever had with my parents.

Here is my mom right after she had her head shaved, when her hair started falling out. She knew how much I liked her hat so she sent me one last week. 🙂

Its been a tough 3 months for me emotionally to be 600 miles away from them while my mom goes through her chemo treatments. Things have been going well, her body is handling chemo well, and the tumor has shrunk considerably. So things look very promising. She has a minimum of two chemo treatments left. Then another PET scan to see how much more the tumor has shrunk. After her last PET scan, they discovered a mass in her pelvic area. So she went in for an ultrasound to find out what that is. She has a benign cyst on her ovary, and then another kind of cyst inside her uterus. They want her to go see a Gynecologist about that one in order to determine if it is benign or some type of cancer. So we wait yet again to find out the results of more tests on another “mass” in her body. If it is something that needs to be removed, they won’t do any type of surgery until she is through with her cancer treatments.

Phew! Such a whirlwind of unanswered questions and waiting. So all I have been able to do from here is pray. And I know that is more than enough as we serve a Sovereign God who holds us and this whole world in His hands. More than anything I’ve just wanted to be there to give my mom a hug and walk with her through this, physically, not just as a listening ear over the phone.

My wonderful husband (of 12 years tomorrow!) told me that it would be good for me to go see her. He knows how hard this has been for me to go through from such a distance. We just didn’t know when to try and plan a trip up there or how to work it all out. So I am planning for a 2 week trip up to Michigan in October, just me and the kids. I don’t want to stay at my parents house since my mom’s immune system is basically non-existent right now. Some sweet friends of mine are letting the kids and I stay in their garage apartment, and I am very grateful.

However, with a long trip like this; driving over 600 miles up there, plus groceries and gas for 2 weeks, then another 600 plus miles back home, its going to cost a bit more than usual. So for the next 5 weeks, all the sales I make from Ida & Mae will help fund my trip back home to see my mom. Ida & Mae already contributes to our family’s budget, and I am thankful that I can help out in that way. So in that same manner, I am working to contribute towards the expenses of this trip so that I can have some quality time with my mom as she walks down this road ahead of her. If you are starting your Christmas shopping early, perhaps you may want to consider some Ida & Mae jewelry for your gift giving. I would be forever grateful.

My mom with my brother and his twin girls just a couple days after her third chemo treatment.

If you would like to stay updated on my mom’s journey, I started a Caring Bridge page for her that I try to keep updated. You can sign in and follow it HERE.